[FIFA WWC 2015] Brazil Women 2:0 Korea Women – Two bad backpasses…

There was spirit, there was a certain sense of structure, and there wasn’t a lack of passion, but there were two poor backpasses that led to the demise of Korea’s gameplan and a victory for the Brazilians in Korea’s first Women’s World Cup encounter.

Korea settled in quickly, and despite an early Brazilian half chance (a long range shot crashing off of the bar, through Kim Jung-mi had it covered), the Koreans were the ones making the most noise early on. Counter-attacking quickly in numbers, the ball eventually found Yoo Young-a in the fifth minute, and the striker was brought down by a rash kick on her shins by Brazilian Formiga. The referee, however, wanted nothing to do with it. Replays showed it was a pretty clear penalty and the Koreans were not happy.

Over the next 25 minutes, Brazil finally settled in. Their midfield triangle dominated and Korea did not make much use of their possession. However, the Korean centre-backs snuffed out any chances and the Brazilian wingers, Andressa and the ever-dangerous Marta. Brazil’s chances were few and far between and were long range as well. This only increased the frustration of Korean supporters when Incheon Hyundai centerback Kim Do-yeon underhit a backpass to goalkeeper Kim Jung-mi. Formiga pounced on the opportunity and slot the shot underneath a taken aback Kim. Right place, right time, an unforced error and Brazil took the lead.

This was detrimental to Korea’s entire game plan. Much like China against Canada on Saturday, the Koreans set up to defend a try to grind out a 0-0 draw. The Koreans had prior experience in doing this as well, setting up in two solid banks of four against the Americans and holding them to a draw on their own turf. I mean grass. Hehe.

At halftime, the tale of the tape was this: a bright Korean start, and resolute defending when Brazil took the bull by the horns, but Brazil seized their only opportunity.

The Second Half

If Yoon Deok-yeo was supposed to send out the team motivated and ready to get the goal back to start the second half, he failed miserably. Halftime came and went and the tempo of the game was the same. Korea wasted their little possession, Ji So-yun in particular being stifled, marked and forced into uncharacteristic mistakes. 2 minutes after veteran netminder Kim Jungmi made a finger-tips save after Kim Hye-ri was caught over committing, Ji So-yun strolled with the ball into her own penalty box and delivered a poor pass in a dangerous position to Cho So-hyun. The Korean captain, Cho, was forced to bring down the omnipresent Formiga, resulting in a Brazilian penalty. Marta took the spot kick and scored, making her the top scorer in Women’s World Cup history, and making this game 2-0 for the South Americans.

The Koreans seemed to open up more after, and certainly press for an opening goal. Combined with Brazil’s defense carrying themselves with a certain complacency and nonchalance, there were a few chances for Korea to take. Notably, you could see what Ji So-yun can really do in transition and on top of the box. She was the most reliable Korean playing going forward in this passage of play. The earlier, “play not to lose” tactic certainly did not suit her skill set and despite her efforts, Korea would have no goals to show for their late surge.

Final score: Brazil 2, South Korea 0. Next up for Korea is Costa Rica. With no points gained in their first match in Montreal, they will need to leave La Belle Province Saturday evening with 3 points in their bags if they are to hope for a Round of 16 place. The Costa Ricans drew Spain in the earlier match. The Central Americans are most certainly not to be underestimated.

Roy will put up a post with his analysis later, but for now, Jalgayo from the TSQ…

brazil’s penalty should not have been given; instead it should be a yellow card for diving by formiga. Cho’s legs were already positioned for a good second before formiga intentionally hooked her trailing leg onto cho’s and dove.

K League Classic

Most recent soccer data here. The system is currently retrieving statistics from data feed.

#

Team

P

1

Jeonbuk Motors

77

2

Gyeongnam

58

3

Ulsan

56

4

Suwon Bluewings

49

5

Pohang Steelers

47

6

Jeju United

44

7

Gangwon

39

8

Daegu

39

9

Seoul

35

10

Sangju Sangmu

33

11

Jeonnam Dragons

32

12

Incheon United

30

Most recent soccer data here. The system is currently retrieving statistics from data feed.

November 11, 2018

Seoul

3 - 2

Jeonnam Dragons

Daegu

0 - 0

Sangju Sangmu

November 10, 2018

Gyeongnam

1 - 2

Pohang Steelers

Jeju United

0 - 0

Jeonbuk Motors

Suwon Bluewings

3 - 3

Ulsan

Gangwon

2 - 3

Incheon United

English Premier League

Most recent soccer data here. The system is currently retrieving statistics from data feed.

#

Team

P

1

Manchester City

32

2

Liverpool

30

3

Chelsea

28

4

Tottenham Hotspur

27

5

Arsenal

24

6

AFC Bournemouth

20

7

Watford

20

8

Manchester United

20

9

Everton

19

10

Leicester City

17

11

Wolverhampton Wanderers

16

12

Brighton & Hov…

14

13

West Ham United

12

14

Newcastle United

9

15

Burnley

9

16

Crystal Palace

8

17

Southampton

8

18

Cardiff City

8

19

Huddersfield Town

7

20

Fulham

5

Hwang Heechan

Most recent soccer data here. The system is currently retrieving statistics from data feed.

#

Team

P

1

Red Bull Salzburg

38

Bundesliga

Most recent soccer data here. The system is currently retrieving statistics from data feed.

#

Team

P

1

Borussia Dortmund

27

2

Borussia Mönchengladbach

23

3

RB Leipzig

22

4

Eintracht Frankfurt

20

5

Bayern München

20

6

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim

19

7

Werder Bremen

17

8

Hertha BSC

16

9

1. FSV Mainz 05

15

10

Augsburg 1907

13

11

SC Freiburg

13

12

Wolfsburg

12

13

Bayer 04 Leverkusen

11

14

Schalke 04

10

15

Nürnberg

10

16

Hannover 96

9

17

Fortuna Düsseldorf

8

18

Stuttgart

8

Kwon Changhoon

Most recent soccer data here. The system is currently retrieving statistics from data feed.

#

Team

P

18

Dijon

11

Search for:

The Tavern of the Taeguk Warriors is an online community of Korean football/soccer supporters. We bring you news, analysis and opinion in English about Korean players abroad, youth players and the K League.